The sense by which the mind, through certain nerves of the body, perceives external objects, or certain states of the body itself; that one of the five senses which resides in the general nerves of sensation distributed over the body, especially in its surface; the sense of touch; nervous sensibility to external objects.

Why was the sight
To such a tender ball as the eye confined, . . .
And not, as feeling, through all parts diffused?
Milton.

2.

An act or state of perception by the sense above described; an act of apprehending any object whatever; an act or state of apprehending the state of the soul itself; consciousness.

The apprehension of the good
Gives but the greater feeling to the worse.
Shak.

3.

The capacity of the soul for emotional states; a high degree of susceptibility to emotions or states of the sensibility not dependent on the body; as, a man of feeling; a man destitute of feeling.

4.

Any state or condition of emotion; the exercise of the capacity for emotion; any mental state whatever; as, a right or a wrong feeling in the heart; our angry or kindly feelings; a feeling of pride or of humility.

A fellow feeling makes one wondrous kind.
Garrick.

Tenderness for the feelings of others.
Macaulay.

5.

That quality of a work of art which embodies the mental emotion of the artist, and is calculated to affect similarly the spectator.